State police said that the driver lost control of the bus, veering off the parkway and into trees on the side of the road. The bus left deep skid marks in the grass on the side of the parkway.

It appeared the crash was caused after an outer-rear wheel came off the bus while it was still in motion, investigators told NBCPhiladelphia.com. An inner-rear tire was also found to be attached to a bent axle. Investigators were still trying to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Tom Dugan, the owner of the bus company Safety Bus, confirmed that the bus recently needed re-inspection after an earlier annual inspection revealed problems that needed correcting.

Chopper 10 / NBC Philadephia

A bus carrying 36 New Jersey high school students careened off the Garden State Parkway on Monday afternoon, crashing into the woods on the side of the road.

Driver praisedParents and students on the bus praised the driver for swerving off the roadway instead of into traffic.

“My daughter did say the bus driver did everything she could not to run into a car or hit the biggest tree possible,” said parent Michelle Griffin.